Fan.



Patented Apr. '|,A i902.

C. S. FITZHUGH.

F A N.

(Application led May 29, 1901.)

(No Model.)

@wi/Mmes TiNTTnn STATns PATENT Ormea CAMERON S. FlTZHUGl-I, OF ilVAOO, TEXAS.

FAN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 696,426, dated April 1, 1902.

Application filed May 29, 1901.

T0 CLZZ whom/ it may concern:

Beitknownihatl,GAMERONS-FH2HUGH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Waco, in the county of McLennan and State of Texas, have invented certain new and usefullmprovementsin Fans; andldohereby declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My present invention relates to improvements in fans, and more especially to automatic fans adapted to be placed upon a table or desk.

The objects of my invention are, first, to provide a device whereby the inclination of the fan may be adjusted to any desired position in the vertical plane; second, to provide means for allowing the fan to be adjusted to any desired position in the horizontal plane; third, to provide a governor for maintaining a uniform speed of the fan regardless of the amount of power applied to the fan-shaft, and, fourth, to increase the efficiency and general construction of such a device.

In order that my said invention may be more fully described, reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which the same l parts are indicated by the same characters of reference throughout the several views, in which- Figure 1 represents a side elevation, partly in section, of a fan embodying my invention; and Fig. 2 is a similar view looking at the fan in a line at right angles to the first view. Fig. 3 is an enlarged view showing the curvature of the bevel-gear in detail.

1 represents the main vertical shaft of the machine in the center of the standard a, carrying at its upper end the bevel-gear 2 and at its lower end the bevel-gear 3. This shaft is supported by the bearings 4 and 5. Meshing with the gear 3 is a bevel-gear 6, mounted upm a shaft 7, journaled in the base or standarc 8 is a gear-wheel carried by the shaft 7, meshing with the gear 9 upon the shaft 10, 'which in turn carries the gear 11, meshing with the gear 12, and so on through the gears 13, 14, 15, and 1G. Gear 16 is mounted upon the shaft 17, which shaft also carries the bevelgear 18. This bevelgear 18 meshes Serial No. 62,389. (No model.)

with the crown-shaped bevel-gear 19, loosely mounted upon the shaft 20, journaled in the bearings 21 22. This bevel-gear 19 carries a pawl 23, adapted to engage with the ratchet 24. 25 is a coiled spring attached to the base a at its outer end and having its inner end secured to the shaft 20. Upon the lower end of the shaft 20 is rigidly. secured the bevelgear 26, adapted to mesh with the bevel-gear 27, carried by the shaft 28, mounted in bearings 29.

30 is a handle carried by the shaft 29, by which the spring may be wound.

The base or standard a is provided with the upwardly-extending curved arm h. The end of this arm h is provided with an overhanging bracket c and is threaded to receive ythe thumb-screw d. This bracket is drilled out to receive the vertically-disposed stem e, the longitudinal axis of this stem being in a direct line with the axis of the vertical shaft .1. This stem is provided at its upper end x with a set-collar f and at its lower end with `the socket g. This socket gis provided with an arc-shaped aperture, the radius of the are being taken from the point a: in the pitch-line f of the gears 2 and Z.

7L is a thumb-screw adapted to clamp the curved arm t' firmly in the socket g. This arm i is also formed on the arc of a circle struck from the point jis a bearing formed upon the end ofthe arm i, in which is mounted the shaft 7.5. This shaft 7c carries the bevel-gear Z, having its teeth curved in the arc of a circle struck from a point within the rotating axis of the gear in such manner that said gear is permitted to swing in the arc struck from the pitch-line of the two gears without destroying the mesh of the same. Thus it will be seen that when the arm 'i is swung up or down to raise or lower the shaft 7c the meshing of the gears Z and 2 will not be disturbed.

m is a fan mounted upon the shaft 7a, vided with fan-blades n.

o is a collar rigidly secured to the shaft k, in which are pivotally mounted the arms p p, provided with the weighted ends or balls q q. These arms p are pivoted at the points ss in the collar o, the ends r of these arms p being adapted to bear upon the adjacent end of the bearing j as the balls swing outward. One

pro-

IOO

or more springs t may be provided to connect these arms p p to retain the balls q q in a normally closed position.

The-operation of the device is as follows: Power having` been applied to the shaft l by means of the spring through the train of gearing hereinbefore described, it is transmitted from the bevel-gear 2 thereon to the curved-tooth bevel-gear Z, causing the shaft 71:

to revolve the fan fm. Fans as ordinarily constructed naturally run much faster when the spring has just been wound than when much of the power has been spent. This is prevented in my device by the employment of the governor upon the shaft 7c. As the speed of the shaft 7c increases the arms p p, carrying the weighted ends q q, ily outwardly, causing the ends r fr of the arms p to bind upon the round end of the bearingj, thus keeping the speed of the fan uniform. XVhen it is desired to swing the fan around to one side or the other in the horizontal plane to direct the air-blast in any desired direction, it is simply necessary to loosen the thumb-screw d and swing the arm t around, the screw being again tightened when the desired position is attained. When it is desired to change the direction of the air-blast in the vertical planethat is, to direct the blast above or below the horizontal-the screw h is loosened, allowing the arm i to slide through the socket g and raise or lower the bearing j, carrying the shaft 7c, without interfering with or destroying the mesh of the gears Z and 2.

f is an adjustable set-collar upon the upper end of the socket-stem e, and resting upon the top of the bracket c supports the socket g and insures the perfect mesh of the gears when adjusted.

u is a set-screw adapted to engage the wheel I2 to stop the fan when desired.

It is obvious that many changes might be made in myinvention Without departing from the spirit thereof, it being understood that I do not limit myself to the precise details herein shown.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In a fan of the character described, the combination with a base, a bevel-gear centrally mounted upon a Vertical shaft Within said base, mechanism for operating said shaft, and an arm upon saidbase,carrying a bracket; of an adjustable socket rotatably mounted in said bracket, a curved arm adj ustably mount-- ed in said socket, and a horizontally-disposed fanfshaft supported by said curved arm, carrying a gear adapted to mesh with the gear upon said vertical shaft, substantially as described. y

2. In a fan of the character described, the combination with a base, a bevel-gear centrally mounted upon a vertical shaft within, said base, mechanism for operating said shaft, and an arm upon said base,carrying a bracket;

of an adjustable socket rotatably mounted in said bracket, a curved arm adj ustably mounted in said socket, a horizontally-disposed fanshaft supported by said curved arm, carrying a gear adapted to mesh with the gear upon said vertical shaft, and a centrifugal speedgovernor mounted upon said fan-shaft, substantially as described.

3. In a fan, the combination with the base or standard, operating mechanism carried thereby, and an arm carried by said base; of a fan-shaft supported by said arm, mechanism for driving said fan-shaft, 'mechanism for ad justably securing said fan-shaft in any desired position, and a centrifugal speed-governor carried by said fan-shaft for maintaining a uniform speed of the fan, substantially as described.

Il. In a fan, the combination with the base, fan operating mechanism carried thereby, and a bevel-gear mounted upon a vertical shaft in said base and connected to said fanoperating mechanism; of a fan-shaft carrying a gear-Wheel adapted to mesh With the gearwheel upon said vertical shaft, and a curved arm for adjustably securing said fan-shaft in any desired positionA in both the horizontal and the vertical planes, without destroying the mesh of the said gears, substantially as described.

5. In a fan, the combination with a base, fanoperating mechanism carried thereby, and a bevel-gear mounted upon a vertical shaft in said base, and connected to said fan-operating mechanism; of a fan-shaft carrying a gear provided with curved teeth adapted to mesh with said bevel-gear upon the vertical shaft, a curved arm having an arc struck with its center in the pitch-line of the two gears, and provided with a bearing for supporting the said fan-shaft, and means for adjusting the inclination of said fan-shaft, substantially as described.

6. In a fan, the combination with a base, fanoperating mechanism carried thereby, and a bevelfgear mounted upon a vertical shaft in said base, and connected to said fan-operating mechanism; of a fan-shaft carrying a gear provided with curved teeth adapted to mesh with said bevel-gear upon the vertical shaft, a curved arm having an arc struck with its center in the pitch-line of the two gears, and provided with a bearing for supporting the said fan-shaft, means for adjusting the inclination of said fan-shaft, and means for adjusting said shaft in the horizontal plane,sub stantially as described.

'7. In a fan, the combination with a base, fanoperating mechanism carried thereby, and a bevel-gear mounted upon a vertical shaft in said base, and connected to said fan-operating mechanism; of a fan-shaft carrying a gear provided with curved teeth adapted to mesh with said bevel-gear upon the vertical shaft, a curved arm having an arc struck with its center in the pitch-line of the two gears, and provided with a bearing for supporting the IOO IIO

said fan-shaft, means for adjusting the inclination of said fan-shaft, means for adj ust` ing,r said shaft in the horizontal plane, and a governor upon said fan-shaft for controlling the speed of the fan, substantially as described.

8. In a fan, the combination with a base, a bevel-gear centrally mounted upon a Vertical shaft Within said base, and mechanism for operating said shaft; of a horizontally-disposed faneshaft, a gear carried thereby, and an adjustable curved arm supporting said faushaft, the curvature of said arm being in an are of a circle struck from the pitch-line of the twogears, substantially as described.

9. In a fan, the combination with a base, fanoperating mechanism carried thereby, and a bevelgear mounted in said base; of a fanshaft carrying a gear-Wheel adapted to mesh with the lgrear-wheel upon said Vertical shaft, and a curved arm,adapted to support said fan-shaft in any desired position in both the horizontal and vertical planes, the curve of said arm being in the are of a circle struck from the pitch-line of the two gears, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aiX my signature in presence of two Witnesses. i

. CAMERON S. FITZHUGI-I. Vitncsses:

J. C. EATON, S. H. CLAYTON. 

